$1.5 million renovation of Gonzales shopping center making room for Ollie's Bargain Outlet

A $1.5 million renovation of the Eastbank Shopping Center in Gonzales, which will create additional space for an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, is underway.

The work on the shopping center at 404 W. La. 30 should be completed by the end of the first quarter, said Kate MacArthur, president and chief executive officer of the Ascension Economic Development Corp.

The work involves taking out the back walls of the center to build out more space for Ollie’s. Once the work is done, Ollie’s will have a 28,000-square-foot space, MacArthur said.

Ollie's specializes in selling closeout merchandise and excess inventory. The company has stores in Bossier City and DeRidder. In October, it announced it was opening a Baton Rouge store in the next few months in the Perkins South Shopping Center.